That’s why I wrote my book, Meant To Be; if I had read someone else’s story, I might not have felt so lonely and desperate. A very warm and frank telling of the many years Lisa and her now ex husband and their infertility story. I would recommend this book to anyone who is experiencing infertility as it will remind you that you are not alone in your feelings, even on those darker days.

I had 3 attempts but like Lisa I only have fleeting memories, I think it was all too sad and hidden away. Billie ran around and happily entertained the whole room, used to being on display from such an early age. While the assessments were being carried out by the courts, as well as giving Billie her everyday care, we would be taking her for regular contact visits with her birth mother and monthly ‘looked-after child reviews’ with social services, not to mention being on the receiving end of home visits from social workers and district nurses. Exactly the same as Lisa; I did not share everything I went through during my IVF journey, which is now a blur, as I could not cope with the scrutiny or expectation of IVF, so my husband and I kept the burden to ourselves. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file.There were certain precautions that we needed to take to ensure we didn’t all get too attached and because at this point we were officially foster carers. I do believe you are given what you need, although it might not be what you think you want at that time. The idea of adoption is not always easy for other children to understand; they imagine her being picked from rows of cots in an orphanage, like Tracy Beaker or Annie. We gave Billie lunch and dinner and bathed her with her new bath toys and wrapped her in a new pink snuggly towel.

An easy listen and a rough guide/story to how some women might go through the process of making the decision to adopt.I had to change her nappy in the middle of it and I felt like all eyes were on me as I picked up the changing bag and we headed to the loos. I wanted the everyday things I saw mums do: finding a high chair in a cafe, putting the pushchair in the car. The things that I utterly relate to are that she always felt on the outside and that the grief never leaves you . This is not a book for the faint hearted,I can relate to her story as I have been through the pain of conceiving as a parent. It was just a bag, but I had really wanted to use it; filling it with nappies, wipes, a change of clothes, snacks and a book had brought me so much joy.

This book is good for anyone who has been through this, or, equally, for those who haven’t, to gain an understanding of this difficult journey. That first day we took her to the park and played on the swings, we fed the ducks and then came home and played with her toys. However, it was being a birth partner to my sister and knowing the love that I felt the minute I held her children that made me realise birth doesn't define love.The social workers (ours and Billie’s) met with us to go through what had been happening and to raise any pressing points or questions they needed to ask. Over two years, my then-partner Chris and I went from trying to get pregnant naturally to having our fertility tested (everything looked normal) and going through IVF three times. The journey Lisa and Chris, her husband at the time, take through this book is a bittersweet story of the ups and downs of trying for a baby and it not going the way others take for granted. A friend once said to me, ‘A snowflake never lands in the wrong place,’ and now I know what she means. As someone finding unable to have children now through sudden medical reasons before being able to try, I found it comforting/interesting to hear her views.